Poole Cruising

On the 27th May a small group of Seavets met up for our annual week in Poole. I met John and Deborah at Lake Pier car park, where I'm glad to report that the parking fees are still £2.50 for 24 hours. Conditions were very wet and windy so we decided not to sail. Instead we made our way to the newly named Huntick retreat, where we were warmly welcomed and shown to our pitches in the centre of the field, surrounding a gazebo and picnic table, perfect for our group. Andy and Kerry had already arrived, so after setting up and mostly drinking tea all afternoon, we made the short trip to the Rose & Crown for an evening meal.

Launching at Lake Pier

Wednesday was cruise day and we woke to a bright and breezy day. We were joined at Lake Pier by day sailors Dave R, Owen, Maurice and Barbara, also Steve who was camping that night. There were white caps on the water when I arrived at 8 am, so the predicted forecast of 15mph gusting 30 seemed fairly accurate. Given the conditions most rigged 6.5m sails and as a precaution we set a shortened route in case the wind increased any more.

As we prepared to launch at 10.30 Andy decided conditions were not for him, opting for a bike ride instead. Then Maurice announced he had forgotten to bring his wet suit, harness and boots. None his size could be found so he pulled out as well (he will be receiving the grand order of the wooden spoon in due course) there were now 6 of us heading off for a beat towards Rockley, and very soon we were the famous five as Dave’s 7m sail wasn’t right for the conditions, and he quickly abandoned.

Steve, Owen, Kerry, John and I landed at Rockley and saw Deborah, Barbara and Maurice, who had walked there along the beach. Having decided conditions were manageable we set off again on a series of broad reaches towards our normal picnic lunch stop at Shipstal Point. The sun was fairly warm now and the wind unchanged, so we decided to carry on towards Hamworthy for an ice cream /tea stop, another broad reach. Suitably refreshed we launched again for a beat back to base. As conditions were still great, we were in no hurry to get back so spent some time reaching back and forth in the wide expanse of the harbour. We eventually landed at about 2.30 and after a short break some of us couldn’t resist another hour on the water. Once again we had failed to make the full cruise but had a great days sailing.

In the evening six of us had a BBQ at the campsite, and listened to some weird animal noises in the surrounding woods and fields. Thursday was forecast to be even more windy so we arranged to meet again at Lake Pier for those with short boards or a bike ride. In the event only Owen had suitable kit for the conditions so the rest of us divided up into walking and cycling groups. Afterwards some returned home while three stayed on at the campsite, returning home on Friday morning.

Richard